Flames Deep Within
by ChasingHope19
Summary: "She scolded herself and began to pull herself together. She had not cried in years, and she did not plan to break the record anytime soon." With the ever looming threat of Lord Voldemort and the future, who knew when the record would shatter?


**A/N:** Hello! I have spent a ridiculously long time developing this character and plot, which has been on the back of my mind for quite a while now. Now let the curtain rise!

**Disclaimer: **Props to Madame J.K. for the Harry Potter books and The Eagles's "Take It To The Limit" for their inspiring works

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_You know I've always been a dreamer  
(spent my life running 'round)  
And it's so hard to change  
(can't seem to settle down)_

_Wednesday September 1, 1976 _

In the outskirts of Pentworth, West Sussex, was the Potter Manor. Standing at a full three stories tall and featuring three balconies, a gated garden, and kilometers of the local hillside, the Potter Manor was by far one of the grander buildings in Pentworth.

The Potter Manor had reputedly been owned by the Potter family for centuries. The current Potters were an elderly couple who often hosted balls and galas and events of such degree that went well into the early hours of morning. Mr. Potter was rumored to be knighted by Queen Elizabeth herself – that was how he was able to keep adding money to the already large bank account, according to the locals. He was a nice man who said hello to those he saw. Every year, he performed magic tricks for the children at the fair that almost seemed _real_. Mrs. Potter was just as likeable, if not more likeable than Mr. Potter. Each morning she would tend to her flowers and when the ladies asked what she did to her flowers to make them bloom so, Mrs. Potter would only smile and invite them inside for tea and a slice of chocolate gâteau.

Their two children went to a prestigious boarding school in Scotland; one was a handsome boy with glasses and black hair sticking up in all directions and the other was a beautiful brown haired girl with blue eyes. Their son was biological; their daughter was adopted. But by the pictures atop the fireplace and the portraits mounted throughout the house, it was clear that each of the children was loved as much as the other. The manor was filled with their accomplishments. Both were at the top of the class in quite a few subjects, and their son was part of the sports team while their daughter wrote for the school paper.

It was almost as if Pentworth spent much of their time holding its breath, as when the Potter children came home, life was grander than it ever been. Pranks would be played and music flourished from the Potter's grand piano, and every so often the citizens would find a heard of sheep grazing at the town center when they should have been kilometers away in the hills.

Pentworth was a small town, and people of small towns liked to talk. It always seemed as though there were more than four people living in the Potter Manor. Perhaps it was because the house seemed alive and almost _magical_. Whenever the subject of the Potters came up in town, some would always say that the portraits and pictures moved and talked. Sometimes, a person would swear that they saw the children flying. But these rumors were quickly dismissed, after all, pictures could not _move_, much less _talk_; and unless the Potter children could somehow sprout wings from their backs, the townspeople were probably just hallucinating and deserved a slap on the back and a glass or two of Pentworth's Finest.

Yet by the end of the summer, the excitement had long since died down. Weeks of children running around the streets of Pentworth left some adults quite appreciative of the time where school would dominate the children's lives. It was always a difficult job to wake the children up early in time for them to get to school. But no one in Pentworth had to go through the trouble of Mrs. Potter.

"James! Myra! Get up! It's nine o'clock and we must get to King's Cross in two hours!" Mrs. Potter yelled at her son and surrogate daughter. "Honestly, after five years, you two might learn to get up on time!"

Myra Janda awoke with a start. She felt around her bed and glanced at the golden sheets and white walls covered in alternative rock band posters, featuring _Red Nights_ and _My Alchemic Cataclysm_. Photographs lined the dresser, and clothes littered the floor. She wasn't in Czechoslovakia and hadn't been for seven years. She was in the Potter Manor, safely in Pentworth of West Sussex. It seemed all too real, though. She could almost feel the heat from stepping a little too close to Simon Palach, then the tightness in which Gabriel Zajic grabbed her by the waist just in time for the paramedics to transport him to the nearest hospital. Then came the funerals, and Myra could feel the tears beginning to pool in her eyes. She scolded herself and began to pull herself together. She had not cried in years, and she did not plan to break the record anytime soon.

She groaned into her pillow and began breathing exercises to decelerate her heart rate, hoping that perhaps Mrs. Potter would allow her to sleep another hour. They really did not need to be at Kings Cross station half an hour early. But Mrs. Potter's constant shouts penetrated her ears and finally, Myra got up, packed her bag, threw on a leather jacket and jeans and went downstairs to the kitchen. "Morning Mrs. Potter," she said.

"Good morning Myra," Mrs. Potter replied, her voice slightly hoarse. "Have you packed your trunk?"

Myra showed Mrs. Potter her backpack. "I cast an Undetectable Extension Charm on this last year. It's damn heavy, but it's better than lugging around a trunk like there's no tomorrow."

"Don't swear," Mrs. Potter said. She swatted Myra with the morning edition of _The_ _Daily Prophet_ and went up the stairs muttering about insolent teenage boys. A few more yells, shouts, and poundings later, a tall, handsome boy with round glasses and messy black hair waltzed down the stairs. This was James Potter, the star Chaser and Quidditch Captain of Gryffindor House. He had quite a few admirers at Hogwarts, all of whom loved his toned body and adored the hazel eyes described to be as smooth as a square of Honeyduke's chocolate. He, along with his friend Sirius Black, always seemed to draw a crowd around them. There was something about the two that made people, or rather, girls, want to know more about them. Myra had long assumed that it was their outgoing nature that made them as popular as celebrities, although the fact that they were both admittedly very good looking greatly helped matters.

"Morning," he said, "Where's your trunk?"

"Don't have one."

"Why not?"

Myra smirked and showed James her bag. "Do you see this? It's called a bag. Say it with me; bag," she said, making sure James said it along with her. "I cast the Undetectable Extension Charm on this so I don't have to cart my trunk around to King's Cross."

"Who'd you get to cast the charm for you? 'Cause you'd have to get Evans or a seventh year to do it."

"If it were so hard to believe James, I wouldn't have told you," Myra said as she took out her wand and started to polish it. "I charmed it on the bag myself. Besides, since when have Evans and I been Merlin and Arthur?"

"What, you being Arthur and she Merlin?"

"No, you wanker, she's Lancelot!"

James chuckled. "She hates you more than she hates me."

It was true; Lily Evans hated Myra Janda more than she hated James Potter. During the first year in King's Cross Station, she became annoyed with both Myra and James when they set off dungbombs and Dr. Fillibuster's Fabulous Wet-Start No-Heat Fireworks in every car of the train. Apparently, it was against the rules and they were sure to get detention once they arrived at school. Myra never understood how Lily knew what went according to the rules and what went against, as their Hogwarts letters never included specified. Hours later, neither James nor Myra was given any sort of detention for the explosions. Rather, they received praise from the Prewitt brothers and made friends with Sirius Black.

Lily had long, red hair, bright green eyes, and a leggy figure, from which she attracted Sturgis Podmore, Edgar Bones, and most notably, James Potter. She was well known and well liked among her non-Slytherin peers, and her teachers could sing nothing but praise and respect for Lily Evans. But Myra could be just as beautiful as Lily. She had light brown hair and her wide light blue eyes were framed by dark makeup. Myra supposed her own petite figure had slight curves, but she certainly was not keen on showing it off. If she wasn't wearing her billowing school robes, she was in an oversized hoodie stolen from James. She hated attention and really, it took effort to impress those she never wanted to impress in the first place.

It didn't help that Myra was brilliant with her wand. She was the top of the class in Charms and Defense Against the Dark Arts, and third in Transfiguration, putting Lily at second and fourth place respectively. What was even worse in Defense and Transfiguration was that Lily Evans was behind James Potter and Sirius Black.

At every class, Lily honestly tried her best to get the top spot. It worked brilliantly in Herbology, Arithmancy, and Care of Magical Creatures, and she was practically royalty in Potions, but she failed dismally at Charms, DADA, and Transfiguration, where Myra, James, and Sirius hardly even tried. They were just gifted with a wand.

Myra had a carefree disregard for the rules. Rules, she reasoned, were meant to be broken. Almost every night for the first three years in Hogwarts, Myra arrived into the Gryffindor Common Room after curfew. Lily had reported her to Professor McGonagall many times, just as she did James and Sirius. From these countless adventures at night, Myra had a bit more knowledge than most Hogwarts students. That was how she received her detentions. Myra had quite a few detentions under her belt. Many were from being cheeky to the professors, but others were from just wandering around the castle and surrounding grounds at night.

It was her blatant ignorance for the rules combined with her beauty that had attracted Gideon Prewett, and Myra supposed that was what Lily hated the most. It was widely known that Lily had long nursed a soft spot for the younger Prewitt brother, but it wasn't Lily he wanted. The red headed Gryffindor had wanted Myra. The two years before, when Gideon was a sixth year and Myra was a fourth year, he pursued her for a month before Myra agreed to go to Hogsmead with him. She had made it clear from the moment they sat down at Three Broomsticks that she was not looking for a relationship; only a fling, but she was willing to give it a go if it were to come to that. Gideon merely smiled at her and they dated for six months before Myra broke it off. They had separated on relatively good terms and had corresponded a bit over the past year and a half.

"Hey Myra, Mum says we have to go now. I'd love to leave you here, and I know you'd love to spend a year without me, but you can't disobey Mum. She's bloody scary when she wants to be," James said.

Myra scoffed. "I know that; I was with you when we both got yelled at for yelling too loudly. She's got quite a set of lungs on her."

"That she does," James said as Myra slung her backpack over her shoulder. "Come on, Mum's in the garden and she's not as patient as she was when you were an ickle firstie."

Myra rolled her eyes as James opened the door. "Me, an ickle firstie? I was a full inch taller than you until second year."

"Yeah. That was when you shrank, wasn't it?"

"Of course, James. It's in my nature to shrink until I'm as tall as a house elf. Your dad's not seeing us off?"

James readjusted his truck. "He's got a full day again at the office. It's the last week of training for the new interns, remember? Between him, Moody, and Williamson, that places about eighteen on the field."

"Eighteen Aurors is not enough to keep the British Isles secure," Myra frowned, "Besides, the ones abroad have to be accounted for as well. There are probably only fourteen Aurors in England at any given time."

"I agree. But until Dad's elected Minister, anything we say is going to be marked off as something Dad wants said, and I doubt he really wants to say half the things coming out of my mouth."

"I really doubt he wants any of the things that come out of your mouth, particularly Clarrisa Melton's tongue."

"Better Melton's than Rookwood's," James retorted, making a face. "I dunno what you see in him anyways, he's not even as good looking as me."

"He's old news! Besides, he was there."

"Still," James said as Mrs. Potter grabbed his hand, "You could do better."

They Apparated to King's Cross Station and when Mrs. Potter finished scolding them and telling them to behave, James and Myra drifted off to find their friends. After greeting Shelia Fortescue, nodding to Niall Selwyn, and glaring at Lily Evans, she boarded the Hogwarts Express with a crooked smile on her face.

"What classes are you taking?" Myra asked Shelia after screaming and hugging her good friend. The two quickly found an empty compartment and sat down, too lazy to put their bags up onto the rack.

"I'm taking Defense, Charms, Potions, Transfiguration, Ancient Runes, and Herbology." Shelia said proudly. "Dad was really proud when I got Es and Os. Even in Divination! You know Miss Kulagina only allows her favorites to pass her class."

"Oh right! You want to be an Auror!"

Shelia grinned. "You remember!"

"Of course I remember," Myra scoffed, "Do you think I take the Forgetfulness Potion every morning?"

"You do when Lily is around," Shelia muttered.

"Oi! I resent that!"

"Kidding," Shelia laughed, "But enough about me, what about you? What subjects are you taking?"

Myra thought for a moment and said, "I'm taking Transfiguration, Charms, DADA, and Alchemy."

Shelia was shocked. "You're only taking four NEWTs?"

James bounded inside with Sirius next to him with an air that announced his entrance, "That's only because the first three are the only ones she passed," he said with a knowing smile on his face.

"It sucks mate," Sirius added. "Getting three Os, a D, and four Ts? That takes talent. Good luck getting past McGonagall, though. She's going to be pissed."

Lily Evans came up to the group with a smirk on her face and sat down next to Shelia. "You only passed three of your OWLs Janda? How terrible," she said with sympathy.

"Evans," James said immediately and ruffled his hair. "It's the beginning of a new year. Go out with me?"

"No Potter," Lily furrowed her eyebrows, "A summer apart won't make me want to go out with you. It makes me want you to stay away for longer periods of time. Shelia, I heard about your OWLs. Good job! You want to be an Auror, right?"

Shelia grinned at Myra's discomfort in Lily's presence. "Thanks. Dad was a little upset that I wouldn't be taking over the shop for him, but that's what Gabriel is for."

"Your little brother? He was adorable as a baby; how old is he now?"

"Gabriel's nine. He's coming to Hogwarts the year after next."

"He's nine?" Lily cooed.

Sirius said pompously, "Then I expect him to become a brave and noble Gryffindor."

"Let's hope," Shelia chuckled. She turned to Myra, "Now about your OWLs."

Myra groaned. "A right fright it gave Mrs. Potter, too. I was in Spain with a Muggle friend-"

"You have friends?" James said in mock horror.

"It does seem impossible, doesn't it?" Myra said, smiling, "Anyway, I was in Spain and when I came back, Mrs. Potter was wringing her hair out in confusion because I got five Ts and a D; she thought I had Mulciber's OWL results."

"You scared the bloody hell out of Mum when you came back, too," James said with a small frown on his face. "With you being sunburned and having purple Muggle dye in your hair and that crazy dragon earring."

Myra smirked. "You forgot my tattoo and my helix piercing. Besides, that 'crazy dragon earring' is my favorite, actually. Honestly James, it's more than you can say. All you did was coop up in that room of yours and come up with Quidditch plays," Myra shot back.

"Quidditch is a perfectly reasonable way to spend the summer!"

"You got five Ts? And a tattoo? And you didn't tell me? I would have been proud of you!"

"Honestly Myra, a helix piercing? A tattoo? What has gotten into your mind?"

Myra sighed with a dejected look on her face. "I wish I had gotten a T in Potions instead of that blasted D; it's really hard to completely fail the practical. Marchbanks gave me points for effort."

The dejected expression was not an act like some other things were; Myra wished her classmates knew precisely how hard failing an OWL was. Some examiners graded easier than their peers, and certain parts of the test were worth more points than others. Myra had to know exactly which section was worth how many points, and she had to know what she had to answer.

Some examiners gave points for effort, and Myra did not want effort points. In her opinion, effort points were given out by people who gave pity to others, and she did not want pity either. And so, Myra had to answer each question so wildly it was mind-boggling.

One of her favorite questions was in her Potions OWL. The question was: _Where can you find a bezoar and what are its uses?_

Myra answered: _A bezoar can be found in the place where the rhino rhumba in a conga line and the pink flamingoes are intertwined. It is mainly used by witches to rid of their pubic hair, but often, it can lead to digestive disorders. In rare cases, this can also lead to an excess of facial hair. This condition is known as a Dumbledore's Beard._

James and Sirius sat down lounged against the window. "Do you want to try out for the team this year Myra?

"No."

"Why not?" James asked.

Myra stared at him. "James, you're captain. Can you imagine how many laps around the pitch you're going to make me run? Not to mention practices at six in the morning! I had enough of that during break. And I don't even _like_ running."

"But you've been hanging around me for all these years! You're my baby sister! You probably know everything there needs to know about Quidditch." James prodded. He proceeded to go into a long speech about Quidditch, with Sirius adding quite a few details here and there that caused Shelia to turn bright red and Lily to leave the compartment. Myra shook her head and grinned. She was going back to Hogwarts.

_But the dreams I've seen lately  
Keep on turning out and burning out._

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**A/N: **Thank you for reading!


End file.
